Japanese New Year (Oshogatsu) 2026-2027: Traditions and Travel Guide

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Oshogatsu (お正月) is the Japanese New Year, and it is the one week when Japan really slows down. Offices shut, families travel home, and millions of people queue at shrines and temples for their first prayer of the year. If you fly into Tokyo or Osaka between Christmas and early January, it will shape your trip more than any other holiday.

This is our practical 2026-2027 guide: what Oshogatsu is, the key dates, what to eat and say, how to do hatsumode respectfully, and what is open, closed and crowded. It is written mainly for US travelers, with notes for readers in Singapore, Australia, the UK and Canada.

Quick answer: Oshogatsu (お正月) is Japanese New Year, Japan’s biggest family holiday, celebrated on 1 January. The core days are omisoka (31 December) and sanganichi (1-3 January), and decorations stay up until 7 January around Tokyo or 15 January in parts of Kansai. Families eat toshikoshi soba on New Year’s Eve, then osechi and ozoni, give children otoshidama money and make hatsumode, the first shrine or temple visit of the year. Travelers should expect banks, many restaurants, small shops and museums to close around 29 December-3 January, plus packed Shinkansen trains and higher hotel rates, so book early. The best places to experience it are Meiji Jingu or Sensoji in Tokyo, Fushimi Inari in Kyoto and Sumiyoshi Taisha in Osaka.

Japanese New Year at a glance (2026-2027)

What is Oshogatsu?

Shogatsu (正月) means the first month of the year; the “o” is an honorific. At its root, the New Year is about welcoming the toshigami (年神), a deity of the year’s harvest also linked to family ancestors. Most customs follow from that: houses are cleaned so the deity arrives to a pure home, kadomatsu (門松) pine arrangements by the door mark a place for it to descend, and kagami mochi is set out as an offering.

Japan has celebrated New Year on 1 January since adopting the Gregorian calendar in 1873, so there is no separate lunar new year holiday. The main stretch runs from omisoka (大晦日), New Year’s Eve, through sanganichi (三が日), 1-3 January. The decorated period, matsu-no-uchi (松の内), usually ends on 7 January in the Kanto region and on 15 January in parts of Kansai.

Compared with a Western New Year’s Eve, it is quieter and family-centred. For more on home customs, see our companion piece Shogatsu: Celebrating the Japanese New Year in Style. This guide focuses on what you will see and do as a visitor.

Before New Year: cleaning, decorations and year-end markets

Preparations traditionally begin on 13 December. Homes, offices and temples do osoji (大掃除), a deep year-end clean. Decorations usually go up by 28 December, because eight is a lucky number. The 29th is avoided because “ku” (nine) sounds like the word for suffering, and the 31st because decorating for just one night is seen as disrespectful to the arriving deity. Look out for:

• Kadomatsu (門松): pairs of cut bamboo and pine placed either side of entrances to shops, hotels and homes.
• Shimekazari (しめ飾り): twisted straw-rope decorations with white paper streamers, hung over doors to mark a purified space.
• Kagami mochi (鏡餅): two flat rounds of mochi stacked with a daidai orange on top. The name means “mirror rice cake”, and “daidai” sounds like “generation after generation”, a wish for the family line to continue.

In Tokyo, the classic year-end scene is Ameyoko (アメ横), the market street beside the tracks between Ueno and Okachimachi, where vendors shout prices for crab, salmon roe and dried goods. It is busiest from about 28 to 31 December, peaking around the 30th, so go in the morning if you just want to look.

New Year’s Eve (omisoka): soba, Kohaku and the temple bells

Toshikoshi soba

On 31 December most families eat toshikoshi soba (年越しそば), “year-crossing” buckwheat noodles. The long, thin noodles stand for a long life, and because soba breaks easily it also represents cutting away the past year’s hardships. Most people eat it at dinner or during the evening rather than exactly at midnight, and some say you should finish before the year turns. Regional twists exist: Kagawa, the udon prefecture, promotes “toshi-ake udon” eaten in the new year. Standing soba chains charge around 400 yen, and popular soba restaurants have queues that evening.

Kohaku Uta Gassen

NHK’s Kohaku Uta Gassen (紅白歌合戦), the “Red and White Song Battle”, began on radio on 3 January 1951 and moved to 31 December, with television coverage, from its fourth edition in 1953. Broadly, the red team is female artists and the white team male, with mixed groups usually placed by lead vocalist. NHK has scheduled the 77th edition for 31 December 2026, 7:20 pm-11:45 pm Japan time; performers had not been announced as of late October 2026.

Joya-no-kane: 108 bells

Around midnight, Buddhist temples ring their great bells in joya-no-kane (除夜の鐘). The usual explanation is that the 108 strikes cleanse the 108 earthly desires of Buddhist teaching, though practice varies, and many temples strike the last one after midnight. How you can take part depends on the temple:

• Sensoji (Tokyo): the bell on Bentenyama is rung at midnight by a group of members while visitors watch; it takes about 40 minutes.
• Zojoji (Tokyo): for 2025-2026 the temple sold a limited number of 2,000-yen bell-ringing tickets from 1 December, and they sold out. Watch its website for the 2026-2027 arrangements.
• Chion-in (Kyoto): 17 monks swing the huge bell, one on the main rope and 16 on side ropes. Visitors cannot ring it, and for 2025-2026 watching required a paid advance booking (3,000 yen) that opened on 1 December. Confirm the 2026-2027 system on the temple’s site.

Some smaller neighbourhood temples let the public ring, often with numbered tickets handed out late in the evening; ask at your hotel or check local listings in December. In Kyoto, Yasaka Shrine holds okera mairi on New Year’s Eve: worshippers light a coiled rope from sacred okera fire and carry it home, traditionally to cook the first ozoni. Lit ropes are not allowed on trains, so most visitors simply watch.

New Year’s Day: first sunrise, hatsumode and family time

Some people go out early on 1 January for hatsuhinode (初日の出), the first sunrise; in Tokyo it is at about 6:50 am on 1 January 2027, according to the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan.

Most people also make hatsumode (初詣), the first visit of the year to a shrine or temple. Despite what many English guides say, it is not only a Shinto custom: Buddhist temples such as Sensoji, Kawasaki Daishi and Naritasan Shinshoji draw some of the biggest crowds in the country. It does not have to happen on 1 January; anything in roughly the first week counts.

How to do hatsumode: step by step

Visitors of any faith are welcome. Be quiet and follow the crowd’s flow; big sites run one-way systems.

1. Bow at the gate. Give a small bow at the torii (鳥居) of a shrine or the main gate of a temple, and avoid walking in the dead centre of a shrine approach, which is traditionally reserved for the deity.
2. Purify at the temizuya (手水舎). Rinse your left hand, then your right. Pour a little water into your cupped left hand to rinse your mouth (never drink from the ladle), rinse your left hand again, then tip the ladle upright so the water runs down the handle. At peak times some shrines simplify this.
3. Make an offering. Toss a coin gently into the offering box. Any amount is fine; a 5-yen coin is popular because “go-en” sounds like the word for a good connection, but that is a folk pun rather than a rule.
4. Pray. At a shrine, the general standard is two bows, two claps, a short silent prayer, then one bow (a few shrines have their own form). At a temple, do not clap: put your palms together, bow your head and pray quietly.
5. Draw an omikuji (おみくじ). These paper fortunes range from daikichi (大吉, great blessing) to kyo (凶, bad luck). Many people tie a bad fortune to the rack provided; taking any fortune home is fine too.
6. Buy a charm. Omamori (お守り) are small cloth amulets for health, safe travel, study and more. At New Year many shrines also sell hamaya (破魔矢), decorative “evil-breaking” arrows, and you can write a wish on an ema (絵馬), a wooden plaque hung at the shrine.
7. Return last year’s charms. Japanese visitors bring old omamori back, usually after about a year, to the collection box where they got them. They are burned at bonfires such as dondo-yaki around mid-January.

Afterwards, most visitors stop at the food stalls along the approach for yakisoba, grilled squid or a cup of amazake (甘酒), a sweet, warming rice drink that some shrines hand out free. Stalls and offering boxes are cash only, so carry coins and small notes.

Useful New Year phrases

• Yoi otoshi o (良いお年を): “Have a good year-end”, said when you part with someone before New Year.
• Akemashite omedeto gozaimasu (明けましておめでとうございます): “Happy New Year”, used from 1 January.
• Kotoshi mo yoroshiku onegaishimasu (今年もよろしくお願いします): “I look forward to your continued kindness this year”, said right after the greeting above.

Best places for hatsumode in Japan

Japan’s National Police Agency stopped publishing its hatsumode ranking after 2009, and today’s figures are estimates announced by the shrines and temples themselves, so treat any “top 10” list as approximate.

To avoid the worst crowds, go on New Year’s Eve before about 10 pm, at dawn on 1 January, or from 4 to 7 January. Our guides to Meiji Jingu and Sensoji cover layout and access for a calmer visit later in your trip.

Osechi and New Year foods

Osechi ryori (おせち料理) is the New Year feast, packed into stacked lacquer boxes called jubako (重箱). Most dishes keep for days; traditional explanations include letting the kitchen and fire deity rest and giving the household cook a break. Today most families buy at least part of their osechi; the average ready-made set for New Year 2026 cost 29,098 yen, according to Teikoku Databank.

Ozoni (お雑煮), mochi soup, varies by region. Around Tokyo, square mochi are usually grilled and served in clear dashi and soy broth; in Kansai, especially Kyoto, round mochi often go into white miso soup. One genuine safety note: mochi is very sticky, and the Tokyo Fire Department warns every winter about choking, with most cases among people aged 65 or older and January the worst month. Cut it small and eat slowly.

Prices below are as of the 2025-2026 season and 2027 preorder catalogues, converted at roughly $1 = 155 yen (the rate was nearer 158 in late October 2026, so check before you go).

To try osechi as a visitor, ask whether your hotel serves New Year dishes on 1 January, or buy individual items from department store food halls in late December.

Otoshidama, New Year cards and other customs

Otoshidama: New Year money for children

Otoshidama (お年玉) is cash given to children by parents, grandparents and other relatives in small decorated envelopes, often called pochi-bukuro (ぽち袋); “pochi” is an old Kyoto-Osaka word meaning “just a little”. Amounts rise with age. In market researcher Intage’s 2026 survey, the most common amount per child was up to 1,000 yen for preschoolers, 2,001-3,000 yen for lower elementary pupils, 4,001-5,000 yen for upper elementary and junior high students, and 9,001-10,000 yen for high school and university students. Those are the most common answers, not averages, and nobody expects it from foreign guests.

Nengajo: New Year cards

Nengajo (年賀状) are New Year postcards, delivered in a bundle on 1 January. For 2027, Japan Post put the cards on sale from 2 November 2026, accepts them into the New Year batch from 20 December, and asks senders to post by 27 December for 1 January delivery. A plain card costs 85 yen, and official cards carry a lottery number drawn in mid-to-late January.

Shishimai, kakizome and hatsuyume

You may see shishimai (獅子舞), a lion dance performed at shrines, shopping streets or hotel lobbies over New Year. Japanese shishimai is usually one or two performers under a single lion head and cloth body, not an acrobatic troupe, and having the lion “bite” your head is believed to keep you healthy for the year. Kakizome (書き初め), the first calligraphy of the year, is traditionally done on 2 January, and a hatsuyume (初夢), first dream, of Mount Fuji, a hawk or an eggplant is lucky.

After the first three days: what’s on in January

• 2 January: In 2026 the Imperial Palace New Year Greeting (新年一般参賀) featured five balcony appearances by the Imperial Family between about 10 am and 2:30 pm, with entry through the main gate from 9:30 am and no advance registration. The 2027 details had not been announced as of late October 2026. Expect a security check and a long queue; our Tokyo Imperial Palace guide covers the grounds.
• 2-3 January: The 103rd Hakone Ekiden university relay runs from Otemachi in central Tokyo to Lake Ashi in Hakone and back (2-3 January 2027).
• 2-3 January: Hatsu-uri first sales and fukubukuro (福袋), sealed lucky bags. In 2026, Mitsukoshi Isetan and Sogo & Seibu opened on 2 January, while Takashimaya, Daimaru Matsuzakaya and Matsuya Ginza waited until 3 January. Check 2027 schedules in December.
• 7 January: Nanakusa-gayu, rice porridge with seven spring herbs, to rest the stomach after the feasting.
• 11 January: Kagami-biraki, when kagami mochi is broken (not cut) and eaten, often in sweet red-bean soup; Kyoto and some other areas use different dates. In 2027 it coincides with Coming of Age Day (成人の日), the second Monday of January, when young adults in kimono and suits gather for ceremonies.
• Around 15 January: Koshogatsu (Little New Year) and dondo-yaki or sagicho bonfires, where shrines burn New Year decorations, old charms and kakizome. Dates vary by shrine.

For the full list of national holidays, see our guide to public holidays in Japan. If you are in Japan in November, Shichi-Go-San is another lovely shrine festival to see.

Visiting Japan over New Year: practical tips for 2026-2027

What’s open and what’s closed

• Government offices: closed by law from 29 December to 3 January (Tuesday to Sunday this time).
• Banks: closed 31 December-3 January; open on 29 and 30 December this year because they are weekdays.
• ATMs: Seven Bank ATMs in 7-Eleven stores accept foreign Visa and Mastercard cards 24 hours a day and ran through the 2025-2026 holidays. Japan Post Bank ATMs had a short overnight pause on New Year’s Eve last season.
• Convenience stores: 7-Eleven, FamilyMart and Lawson stay open 24 hours, even on holidays, with a few exceptions.
• Restaurants and small shops: many family-run places close for several days, especially 31 December-3 January. Chains, hotel restaurants and tourist areas are your safest bet; book New Year’s Day dinner ahead.
• Museums: most close for several days; Tokyo National Museum, for example, is closed 26-31 December 2026 and reopens on 1 January 2027.
• Department stores: usually closed on 1 January, with first sales from 2 or 3 January.

Trains, the JR Pass and New Year’s Eve transport

The year-end exodus is one of Japan’s three big travel peaks. In 2025-2026, Shinkansen reservations peaked around 27-30 December for trips out of the big cities and 2-4 January for trips back, and Nozomi trains on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen were all-reserved from 26 December to 4 January. Book seats as soon as reservations open, about a month ahead.

The Japan Rail Pass has no New Year blackout dates. Pass holders can ride Nozomi and Mizuho trains by buying a special supplement ticket, for example 4,960 yen between Tokyo and Kyoto or Shin-Osaka. As of October 2026 a 7-day ordinary pass costs 50,000 yen bought online (about $320) or 53,000 yen from an overseas agent.

On New Year’s Eve 2025, JR East ran all-night trains on six Tokyo-area lines including the Yamanote Line, Keisei and Keio ran all-night services, and Keihan did the same in Kansai for Fushimi Inari. Tokyo Metro and Toei did not run extra all-night trains. Rail companies usually announce their 2026-2027 plans in December, so check before planning a midnight shrine visit.

Hotels, weather and money

Hotel rates around New Year are among the highest of the year, and Tokyo and Kyoto fill early, so book as soon as your dates are fixed; our Tokyo accommodation guide compares neighbourhoods. January is cold and mostly dry on the Pacific side: Tokyo averages a high of about 10C (50F) and a low of about 1C (34F), Kyoto is similar but feels colder at night, and Sapporo stays below freezing with snow. Cards are widely accepted, but carry cash for offerings, charms and food stalls.

Landing at Narita? Our Narita Airport guide covers getting into the city, and Naritasan Shinshoji is a short train ride plus a walk from the airport, an easy first or last hatsumode.

Is New Year a good time to visit Japan?

It depends on what you want; our best time to visit Japan guide compares every season. Here is the honest New Year trade-off.

Pros:

• You see a deeply traditional side of Japan: decorations, hatsumode, temple bells and seasonal food.
• Central Tokyo’s business districts are strikingly quiet on 1-3 January.
• First sales and fukubukuro are fun, and winter skies are often clear.

Cons:

• Many small restaurants, shops and museums close for some days.
• Shinkansen trains and flights are at peak demand.
• Hotel prices are among the highest of the year.
• Famous shrines can mean long queues on 1 January.

Sample New Year itinerary: Tokyo, 31 December-2 January

• 31 December: Morning at Ameyoko for the year-end market buzz, afternoon in Asakusa before crowds build, early toshikoshi soba dinner. Then either Kohaku in your hotel room or the midnight countdown at Meiji Jingu (check that night’s train schedule first).
• 1 January: Catch the 6:50 am sunrise or sleep in. Do hatsumode at Sensoji or Meiji Jingu in the morning, then walk the unusually quiet streets of Marunouchi and the outer palace grounds. Book dinner in advance.
• 2 January: Join the Imperial Palace New Year Greeting queue in the morning if it goes ahead, then try the first sales at a department store that opens that day, or take the train to Kamakura for Tsurugaoka Hachimangu.

Kyoto alternative

Spend 31 December around Gion: watch the Chion-in bell (book ahead) or the okera mairi at Yasaka Shrine. On 1 January, go to Fushimi Inari Taisha at dawn, then rest. On 2-3 January, mix smaller temples with reopened shops downtown; our Kyoto attractions guide helps you pick quieter sights. In Osaka, Sumiyoshi Taisha before dawn on 1 January is a local favourite.

Notes for readers outside the US

Singapore

Singapore’s 2026 year-end school holidays run from 21 November to 31 December, so flights to Haneda, Narita and Kansai fill early for December; book soon. Japan is one hour ahead, so the Japanese midnight countdown is at 11 pm Singapore time.

Australia

New Year falls in the Australian summer holidays, and Japan’s ski areas in Hokkaido and Nagano are a popular choice at this time, though early-season snow is not guaranteed. Japan is two hours behind Sydney and Melbourne during daylight saving, so Japan’s midnight is 2 am in Sydney.

United Kingdom

Japan is nine hours ahead of the UK in winter. Japanese midnight is 3 pm on 31 December in London, and UK midnight is 9 am on 1 January in Japan, just right for a call home after an early shrine visit.

Canada

Japan is 14 hours ahead of Toronto and 17 hours ahead of Vancouver in winter, so Tokyo’s midnight is 10 am on 31 December in Toronto and 7 am in Vancouver. The same gaps apply to New York and Los Angeles.

Celebrating Oshogatsu at home in the US

Japanese grocers in major US metros often take osechi preorders in late autumn; in the 2025-2026 season, Mitsuwa and Nijiya took reservations from November for pickup around 31 December, so look for 2026-2027 announcements from November. Simple dishes such as kuromame, datemaki and ozoni are easy to make yourself.

Useful buys for Oshogatsu at home

These are research-based picks: we have not tested them ourselves.

Namiko Chen’s osechi cookbook from Just One Cookbook is one of the few English-language books devoted entirely to Japanese New Year dishes, including kuromame, tazukuri and ozoni.

A three-tier jubako box makes a few homemade or store-bought dishes look like proper osechi; note that this one is lacquer-finish plastic, not real lacquerware.

This Made in Japan pack of pochi-bukuro envelopes with mizuhiki designs works for otoshidama and for small cash gifts year-round.

If you are planning a winter trip, the Lonely Planet Japan guide is a solid all-round companion for the regions covered here.

FAQ

What is Oshogatsu and how do Japanese people celebrate New Year?

Oshogatsu is the Japanese New Year, the country’s most important family holiday. People clean and decorate their homes, eat toshikoshi soba on 31 December, then spend 1-3 January eating osechi, giving children otoshidama and making hatsumode.

When is Japanese New Year 2027 and how long does it last?

New Year’s Day is Friday 1 January 2027. The main holiday runs from 31 December to 3 January, and most offices and banks reopen on Monday 4 January. Decorations stay up until 7 January around Tokyo or 15 January in parts of Kansai.

Is everything closed in Japan on New Year’s Day?

No. Convenience stores, hotels, many chain restaurants, trains, shrines and temples stay open. Banks, government offices, most department stores and many small restaurants and shops are closed on 1 January, and some stay shut until 3 or 4 January.

What do Japanese people eat on New Year?

Toshikoshi soba on New Year’s Eve, then osechi ryori (a boxed feast of symbolic dishes such as kuromame, kazunoko and datemaki) and ozoni mochi soup from 1 January. Amazake, a sweet rice drink, is popular at shrines.

What do you say for Japanese New Year?

Before New Year, say “yoi otoshi o” when parting. From 1 January, say “akemashite omedeto gozaimasu” (Happy New Year), usually followed by “kotoshi mo yoroshiku onegaishimasu”.

Can tourists do hatsumode, and what is the etiquette?

Yes, everyone is welcome. Purify your hands and mouth at the water basin and offer a coin. At a shrine, bow twice, clap twice, pray and bow once; at a temple, put your palms together quietly without clapping. Follow the crowd’s direction and do not block queues for photos.

How much otoshidama do you give?

It rises with age. In Intage’s 2026 survey, the most common amounts were up to 1,000 yen for preschoolers, 4,001-5,000 yen for upper elementary and junior high students, and 9,001-10,000 yen for high schoolers. Foreign visitors are not expected to give it.

Is New Year a good time to visit Japan?

It is great for culture and festive shrines, but expect closures, crowded trains around 27-30 December and 2-4 January, and high hotel prices. Book early and plan meals ahead.